HEBREW WORD STUDY – PROTECTION FROM THE WORLD – KATHENOTH  ‘OR  כתנכ עור  

Genesis 3:7,21:  “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (21)  The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” 

I was reading from the works of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, a 19th-century Jewish scholar, and discovered something I never even considered.  I have read Genesis 3 countless times in my life, I have heard numerous sermons where these verses are quoted but I never stopped to really meditate on what this actually means that God made clothes for Adam and Eve.  I thought back to my earliest memories as a child and I clearly remember Sunday School and listening to my Sunday School teacher tell us that God made clothes for Adam and Eve.  I remember feeling quite relieved, I mean I was a little concerned because it didn’t seem like a bunch of leaves sewn together would last very long. At least God made something permanent.

This morning I read where Rabbi Hirsch commenting on this passage of God clothing Adam and Eve declared that is was  God’s  first act of  gamiloth chasad – loving kindness.  Adam and Eve clothed themselves with leaves from a fig tree.  The word for fig tree, te’anah could have two possible roots.  The first root te’an which means a fig tree.  But it also could come from the root word ‘aun  which means an inappropriate means of acquisition, in other words, to steal something.  The word for leaf is ‘alah which means to ascend, to rise up.  To wear fig leaves or te’anah alah had a double meaning. It also meant to steal something that was meant only for an ascension (to heaven).  Because of this disobedience, this act of stealing, Adam and Eve could not enter heaven so God clothed them in garments of skin.

Garments of skin is kathenoth ‘or which has a double meaning in Hebrew, it also means the protection from the weight of the world.  To this day, to this moment God has clothed us with the kathenoth ‘or protection from the weight of the world.  So why does Rabbi Hirsch call this an act of lovingkindness?  Because as we bear the weight of this world God can continually show His  lovingkindness by protecting us, caring for us as we face the cares of this world.  Not only that, but God also has a wonderful way of turning tragic events into something wonderful. For now, that sin has entered into the world, according to Rabbi Hirsch, God has given us the opportunity to follow His example and show lovingkindness to those who are suffering from the weight of this world.  We can feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and show compassion to the poor.  God has turned the tables on the old serpent and took the fig leaves of Adam and Eve, the disgrace of their sin and clothed them and us with the garments of skin kathenoth ‘or the opportunity to share love and loving-kindness to those under the weight of this world.

Where did God get these skins?  He sacrificed animals. He made the first sacrifice for man as He eventually gave the final sacrifice for man, His Son.  Thus kathenoth ‘or (‘or with an Ayin) becomes a play on the word kathenoth  ‘or (‘or with an Aleph) to become a garment or protection of Light (Jesus Christ – John 1:1).